Author: strnewresearchers

On Sunday 4th February NRN invited people from as many different publishing backgrounds as we could muster to talk to our new researchers about ways to share their work with the world. We covered the traditional- journals and monographs- to aspects of non traditional- journalism and creative practice.

For those who couldn’t join us here are some key take-aways from the event.

Panel 1: Journal Publication

Panelists: Trevor Griffiths-Theatre Notebook editor (STR)

Pascale Aebischer-Outgoing editor of Shakespeare Bulletin

Kate Dorney-Editor of Studies in Costume and Performance

Each panelist offered their own personal experience of editing- and managed to reassure us all that Journal publishing isn’t as terrifying as you might have heard. Hearing from three experienced editors who clearly had the interests of writers in mind as well as the quality of their publication was a reassuring experience.

There were some useful pointers on the steps to publication which go something along these lines:

1) The editor reads essay or abstract really quickly & tries to find the right readers for you. Ideally on the editorial board, but the goal is to find the best person.

2) Readers send back a report of scholarly rigor, significance, interest, and fit for the journal.

3) Editor decides based on reports whether to ask for revisions or reject. (You will basically never not be asked for some revisions.)

4) The author gets the reader reports. They can be harsh. “You have to just sit back, take it, and think. Then respond.”

5) Revise, send it back, and explain what changed. It gets another read… and then is published!

Naturally much of the conversation turned to peer review and they assured that it’s okay to push back about notes from your reviewers, but make sure you have well-reasoned arguments for doing so. Remember you are the expert on your subject and if there’s valid reason for questioning what a reviewer has said an editor will appreciate that. But first take time to reflect on the feedback. Don’t just respond because you feel hurt and angry. The panel also added that- in layman’s terms- some peer reviewers are just jerks. It’s not good, it’s not good practice and don’t be a jerk if you’re a peer reviewer, and try not to take it personally if you get one who is a jerk.

Finally, remember that Journal staff are all volunteers. Respect their time- and them.

Panel 2: Publication Strategies

Panelists: Charlotte Mathieson, Lecturer at the University of Surrey

Victoria Cooper:Founder of Cooper Digital Publishing

Camilla Nelson: Founder of Singing Apple Press

All of our panelists here had very different approaches to the publishing process- and had been involved in the ‘traditional’ process as well as striking out on their own. A nice element to see was that a balance between the two was possible, and that a more ‘creative’ approach to publishing is also feasible.

In the more ‘traditional’ end Charlotte Mathieson talked through the process of turning your PhD into a book. As a starting point looking through the works you used in writing the PhD and seeing who published them is a starting point. Following this, looking around more widely in the field at the new and popular works and who publishes those. Once you find a publisher you may not get a contract if it’s your first book- which can be good and bad- no deadlines to be held to but can add to a feeling of precariousness. In practical terms turning it into a book and be prepared to take some time over re-writing it.

Our panelists on other means of publication were very different in output styles- Victoria Cooper’s work focuses on new media and digital outputs for publishing while Camilla Nelson’s publications bridge artisan work and publishing. Having such diverse approaches proves how diverse a field publishing your research work can be. And how you can in the creative sector particularly bridge practice and research with your publishing.

Both speakers were keen to stress that firstly think of creating a recognisable ‘brand’ that you display on all your social media output/ website etc- even if you are going down the artisan route. For both as well thinking about the audience for your publications should be at the heart of the work. Finally some great advice that if you feel like the integrity of your project will be compromised by the traditional book format or traditional publishing process, don’t be afraid to experiment.

There are lots of different publication avenues available to you. Also, if your work doesn’t fit into an established avenue, invent your own!

Emma Whipday: Playwright and Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at UCL

Stephanie Boland: Head of Digital at Prospect Magazine

This panel showed that there is a place for academics to publish work outside academia- whether that’s because you choose to focus your work there or just as a nice add on to the ‘traditional’ academic publishing market.

One great starting point to keep in mind is that unlike with academic journals, it’s sometimes okay to email an editor without a super concrete idea, especially if you are just interested in reviewing things for them. But remember that most outlets already have a drama critic, so make sure you’re only pitching work that they actually have freelancers do– essays, profiles- as with academic journals, spending time looking at the work they make first will help you pitch.

Unlike in academic publishing however you can be persistent! Especially in non-academic media, you’ll often get a lot of “no”s because the work is so time-based. Just keep trying, and eventually you’ll hit on the right idea at the right time. Unless they tell you that your style/ideas just fundamentally aren’t a good fit– then try somewhere else.

For those just wanting to try out another style of writing Student newspaper/blogs show editors that you are interested in what you’re writing about- and aren’t just there for undergrads!

When pitching non-academic publications know how to condense your ideas into a quick easy to read email:

In the subject line put the idea, the in the body of the email flesh this out in 1-2 sentences, add in date it can be completed by, who you are and what you’ve worked on before.

And finally a couple of tricks and ‘hacks’: always address the person by the correct name, prefix- don’t risk annoying them before you start. But if you’re pitching somewhere and can’t find an email – try a sneaky firstname.lastname@company.com to try and get your work to the right people.

General Q&A

Following the panels we hosted a general Q&A the results of which and much more from the day can be found via our Twitter and on #NRNPub

Becoming a Post-Doc is one route into an academic career, but how do you secure one? Mrunal Chavda shares his academic journey and what he felt helped get him the position. Mrunal is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Sociolinguistics at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). The project ‘Sociocultural Documentation of Gujarati in South Africa’ is funded by National Research Foundation (South Africa) and is supervised by Prof Rajend Mesthrie. Mrunal holds a PhD in Drama from the University of Exeter (England). His ‘home’ India and research interests are theatre and performance studies, the Natyashastra, and Indian diaspora in Africa, the UK (so far), Gujarati language, literature, and Bollywood film studies. Mrunal volunteers as a Language Champion with Oxford Gujarati Living Dictionary and writes for their Blog in Gujarati.

Once upon a time in India, I worked as a lecturer in the General Department, Government Polytechnic, Himmatnagar (Gujarat). My appointment was permanent with two years’ probation. Before finishing the probationary period, I resigned despite family members’ pressure, financial instability, and insecurity! There are strong reasons. Let me recall my first day of the job. My Head of the Department specialised in Chemistry and welcomed me to the department. As usual, he inquired out of curiosity what I ‘now’ plan to do. I suggested that I wish to pursue a PhD. He laughed and implied that why do I need a PhD once I have got a government job. His idea for me was to ‘relax and enjoy life’ and forget about a PhD! He provided me with an example: he told me he possessed a ‘Gold Medal in Chemistry’ and could make more than a hundred chemicals before getting a job in government! Erasure of knowledge in these times might lead to nowhere! Therefore, I decided to quit my job. This decision was not easy as my wife was registered as a PhD in Linguistics at the Gujarat University and my 5-year old daughter needed schooling. Sooner I was to realise that this was the best decision I have ever taken! It was a calculated, well-thought and conscious risk. As a result, I was to invest four years in academia. My advice to students, especially mature ones in such circumstances, would be to examine the pros and cons of the decision to start a PhD and then evaluate both sides before joining any doctoral programme.

PhD or no PhD?

Being aware of the time, money and our family stakes, my PhD story is an exciting journey of tremendous learning. It seemed like climbing the Himalayan peak as I chose to study theatre instead of English literature. We (I mean my wife too) performed on the stage (one-act and mime) but never studied theatre academically. There was already a PhD scholar in the family: did we really want another one? This was a real dilemma. It meant both of us having to sacrifice time for the family, invest money into academia (sacrificing all the savings) and putting our child’s future at stake. We would be leaving our home for ‘the undiscovered country’, as Hamlet famously put it. I discussed this issue with my immediate family, my possible supervisor, and colleagues. I was fortunate that all gave me a balanced and honest advice. I – or, rather we – decided to overcome this dilemma by treading this path.

PhD se Bada Koi dharma Nahi Hota! (No religion is bigger than a PhD)

Starting a PhD at the University of Exeter brought hundreds of challenges as an international student, be it social, cultural, or economic. However, I believe that if you wish for something so passionately, the whole universe conspires to make it happen! My property owner, my supervisory team (Prof Graham Ley, Prof Jerri Daboo, and Prof Cathy Turner) and the Exeter Hindu community all helped me in one or the other way to achieve what I commenced. Studying the Natyashastra, an Indian treatise on performing arts written in Sanskrit, on my own, learning academic writing, and then writing a thesis required true devotion. Four years’ hard work finished just like that! I could not imagine that my PhD viva would last less than an hour discussing and clarifying a concept or two from the project. February 2015 flew like a kite in a gust of wind and childlike curiosity made a wonderful flight landing back home in Gujarat in March 2016. I was aware of the long to-do lists along with my wife’s PhD viva in India. I realised that PhD toh trailer tha, Film Abhi Baki hay mere Dost (the PhD was just a trailer, the film is yet to start). As soon as this realisation happens, it is good. Engaging in academic activities such as Learning and Teaching in Higher Education-LTHE, University of Exeter’s Grand Challenges and Academic training modules during these four years not only prepared me to complete my PhD in four years but also exposed me to disciplines other than mine. These academic activities, I must say, were not immediately relevant but in the end, they should be attended to seriously! They help you listen to voices outside your discipline. Meeting the PhD fraternity allows you to realise that everyone faces the same problems, but that each one of them solves them differently, and such gathering follows only one religion: Doctor of Philosophy.

Jo Dar Gaya Woh Mara Gaya (he who is afraid is dead)

Publish or Perish might sound like a death threat to young scholars, but for me, it is like Jo Dar Gaya Woh Mara Gaya (he who is afraid is dead). Fear of rejection, fear of loss, fear of stagnation will never work for you. Soon after the PhD, I applied to British Academy, Leverhulme and Wellcome Trust (the UK) and Fulbright-Nehru (the USA) and DRS Post Doctoral Fellowship (Germany) with ‘an interesting’ project but somehow I could not get into the last round of interviews! However, I continued to attend conferences and symposiums selling ‘our’ research. Though I was tired of applying, I was patient as well. I knew that I have a list of projects with substantial feedback from scholars working in the field. I knew that I would receive a reply to these conversations eventually. So, do not be afraid of rejections and keep a diary (I keep a One Note) with the list of projects and wait for the opportunity. In the meantime I write, write and write.

Hamara Post Doc Ayega! (Our Post Doc will come!)

As I mentioned, I am married to a research scholar and we have a child. My wife submitted her PhD and she joined me in Exeter in January 2014, simply waiting for her viva. I finished and extended my stay in Exeter for a year in order to get some opportunities. During this time, I only wrote an article, a chapter and project proposals for various post-doctoral positions. On my return to India, I worked as a volunteer actor, director and Gujarati language champion on weekends and worked for a school on their content development program for disadvantaged children. This provided me with an opportunity to work with all ages including young children and seniors. This social and creative engagement was the result of my training in Grand Challenges and Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Exeter where I explored enthusiastically what possibilities existed beyond my PhD. I never thought that my working on this Gujarati language project with lots of public engagement activities would result in a post-doctoral research fellowship in linguistics! My next advice is to seek out volunteering opportunities because an opportunity might knock on the door.

Meanwhile, my wife passed her viva without any corrections! She did it! We were on the top of the world! We were now Dr Vinu Chavda and Dr Mrunal Chavda. Now, we needed fool-proof research projects for both of us – if possible in the same country and in the same university. For this, I was ready for three things: 1) being open to broad fields such as South Asian studies, 2) being open to interdisciplinary fields such as cultural studies and literature, but I hadn’t thought of linguistics, and 3) being ready to dig into people’s lives, organisations and public institutions. These three approaches were quite different from my own approach to my doctorate. This taught me the value of niche and broader research interests.

“When you really desire something from the heart and soul, all the universe conspires you to achieve it”- Paulo Coelho, the Alchemist

Attending conferences is one of the ways you can market your research and somehow, I did attract some attention. I thought one of the main reason was my approach toward the Natayshastra (an Indian treatise on performing arts), which developed an apparatus to examine theatre productions highlighting limitations of semiotics models. I approached Mahesh Dattani, a contemporary Indian playwright who knows the Natyashastra inside and out, during his dramatic reading of Dance Like a Man at the Kings College. I was one of the participants in this conference focusing on South Asia from multi geopolitical perspectives. During the tea break, Prof Rajend Mesthrie, Professor in Linguistics at the University of Cape Town, and I conversed on the current research project that my wife and I were working on. I had never thought that within a year, we would receive offers of post-doctoral research fellowships.

BRICS Initiative funds South-South connection node research especially in the field of science technology, administration and public policy with some funding for cultural studies. My wife was part of this funding application in September 2016 and fortunately, she got funding from this important initiative between South Africa and India. My project, ‘Sociocultural Documentation of Gujarati in South Africa’ was then sponsored by National Research Foundation, South Africa as a part of South African Research Chairs Initiative for Migration, Language, and Social Change. Although our funding is only for a year, the erasure of Asian languages (especially Indian languages and its documentation) has provided us with a good platform for multidisciplinary learning. This was a perfect blend of work/life balance we always sought! Currently, I am writing a monograph from my PhD thesis and my second monograph proposal has been accepted!

So for PhD and Post Doc aspirants, I would provide three points of advice:

Write. Write. Forget about rejections and write.

Find your niche, but do have a broader research horizon.

Be ready for change and embrace it.

Have you secured a Post-Doc? Do you have any tips on what you felt helped you get there? If so, why not write for our blog…

The New Researchers’ Network is currently looking for three individuals to expand our voluntary committee.

The Society for Theatre Research’s New Researchers’ Network is made up of a supportive group of postgraduates, new scholars, practitioners, artists and early career academics who have interests in theatre and performance, theatre history and theatre historiography. The New Researchers’ Network is comprised of individuals from a variety of academic disciplines including Theatre and Performance Studies, History, History of Art, English Literature and Modern Foreign Languages, as well as those from the theatre profession.

We meet throughout the year for a series of study days, lectures, archive visits, and theatre tours. The calendar of events is designed to encourage members to share knowledge and ideas, provoke discussions and debate, and develop a network of helpful and supportive contacts. We also provide opportunities for new researchers to present their current research at our annual symposium.

We are looking for three people to join our friendly committee, which is currently made up of researchers at various stages of postgraduate study, as well as post-PhD early career researchers.

Although the roles of committee members are flexible depending on availability and interests, we are particularly looking for one person who would be interested primarily in events organisation, and for two people who would be interested in taking on responsibility for our social media presence and blog. These roles would include the following:

Event Organisation:

We hold two regular events per year – our annual symposium in the summer and a winter study day, which is usually designed to help new researchers face the challenges involved in theatre research and in the job market beyond PhD study. We are looking for someone to co-ordinate the organisation of these events, supported by the rest of the committee. The role would include:

Contacting and booking venues

Organising catering

Putting together schedules

Liaising with speakers and attendees

Managing online ticketing

Gathering feedback on events

Social Media and Blog Management:

As well as our events we run a blog which invites new researchers to write on a range of topics from practical advice about managing time during the PhD and viva tips, to the importance of friendship and peer reviewing. We also run active Facebook and Twitter networks. We are looking for two people to share the running of our social media networks and blog. This person would need to be relatively confident with Facebook/Twitter and, if possible, WordPress and MailChimp, although we will provide training! Supported by the rest of the committee, this role would include:

Planning the blog schedule and approaching people to write for the blog

Working with authors to edit blog posts

Updating the website with blog posts and updates

Marketing our events and promoting other relevant events on social media

Maintaining our mailing list

Anyone who is a postgraduate or early career researcher in drama, theatre, performance, or a related discipline in the UK or Ireland can apply. As we are already a geographically dispersed committee, we hold committee meetings via Skype approximately once every two months. Ideally, you’ll be committed, passionate about supporting new research into theatre, and keen to address the issues that new researchers in our field face.

To apply please send a brief CV and an expression of interest to nrn@str.org.uk by 1st December 2017. In your expression of interest please detail which role you would be most interested in and why, as well as how being a member of the NRN committee will benefit your development as a researcher.

We will contact shortlisted applicants by 8th December to invite them to an informal Skype chat to meet existing committee members and discuss the role in more detail.

Please do email us at nrn@str.org.uk if you have any questions at all. We look forward to hearing from you!

Tony Lidington explains his unusual process to a PhD in Drama. Tony has been working as a showman for over 30 years and is well-known for his exploration of British popular entertainment forms. In the past, he has worked for many well-known venues and companies, combining accessibility and innovation. Each Summer, he scratches a living with “Uncle Tacko’s Flea Circus” (irritatingly fun!) and performs as The Raree Man with his peepshow (an Eighteenth Century form of itinerant storytelling ). Currently he is directing ‘Dick Whittington’ for Exeter’s Northcott Theatre. You can follow Tony’s work on www.prom-prom.com or Facebook “Promenade Promotions”.

I’ve been peddling my old nonsense for 35 years: on streets, beaches, car parks, green field festivals, field events, agricultural shows… in the open, under canvas, bus shelters, on the pier, on the bus, on the deck of boats, in quarries, on the banks of rivers and community orchards. I have run companies, venues, festivals, events, projects and stuck my oar into arts politics and the strategic development of illegitimate arts. I perform, research, teach and broadcast and in the process, I have become a specialist in the vernacular, the unusual, the bizarre and the kind of work that seldom accrues any cultural value… so if you want to know about Pierrot Troupes, Flea Circuses, Peepshows and Pantomime, then I’m your man.

But of course, people seldom ask about such topics, because they aren’t as hip as the current vogue for circus or physical theatre that almost every NPO seems to be encouraged to explore, so they sit, forlorn and almost forgotten as part of our intangible cultural heritage. Everyone knows what a Flea Circus is (or at least they imagine that they do as they shudder at the thought), most have a notion that a Pierrot is part of a kind of twee European clown tradition, and everyone knows about Punch & Judy and Pantomime, but give little thought as to why they have remained so phenomenally successful cultural influences in the British psyche.

For years, friends and colleagues have urged me to put my experiences and thoughts into some sort of structure, whereby these popular entertainment forms might start to achieve recognition and offer me a new strand of earning potential: “You should do a PhD!” they cry. But as a practising artist in the kind of work that earns relatively small amounts rather erratically, “How on earth can I afford to do that?” I’d respond. I have taught modules at Exeter University and been the lead artist on a few AHRC projects, but a PhD… everyone says it takes years and years, that it’s horribly dry and that it costs thousands a year. Given my Herculean efforts over decades to keep the household going and a young family just about clothed, through my work as a freelance artist producing my ‘weird shit’, the task seemed pretty huge.

However, dear reader, there was a way: I had worked with Professor Jane Milling on an AHRC project on pierrots some years previously and periodically we had lunch together to gossip, ruminate about our mutual areas of interest and to hatch plans of various sorts. It was Jane who first suggested that there might be a way to do a doctorate using my current practice to demonstrate the theory behind my thesis and to use my BBC Radio 4 broadcasts and other media-related publicly-available presentations (eg videos and documentaries) as the publications by which my work was validated. This meant that I would be able to present my various recordings as publications and my current work with community pierrot troupes, the flea circus and the peepshow as the demonstration of my thesis; so rather than a large amount of written text (usually around 100,000 words), my thesis simply needed to knit together my existing frame with a theoretical methodology – a task of some 20,000 words only! Here was a potential means to present a PhD that could be achieved in a shorter space of time (cheaper) and that used my current practice (I could keep doing the stuff that paid the bills).

We decided that we would try and find a new way of presenting the materials: for years, PhD students have presented their practical work and recordings as piles of VHS tapes or DVDs. Our plan was to use an interactive Ebook that would have embedded video and sound archives which illustrated points within the text, galleries of still pictures and footnotes that would pop-out when clicked on. No-one had done this before at the University of Exeter, and yet it is a much more accessible way of presenting the ideas for any practising artist. There’s no way I had the technical or digital skill to achieve the graphic design or elegance of format that was required, but the technicians at the department (Jon Primrose & Chris Mearing) were keen to help – thank God! They also wanted to find a way of presenting work in a more accessible way for the future, so that the mechanisms for presenting their materials and the speed of the process meant that it would be increasingly attractive for practitioners to apply to become PhD students.

The process of writing the PhD was not horrible! There were times that it was a struggle and I was pushed to the limits of my capacity to absorb theory, but like many others, I suspect the worst bit was simply trying to work-out what configuration of citation and bibliographical reference was best… should that bloody comma go before or after the closing parenthesis? Aaaaarrgh! So, despite many late nights whilst the family slumbered and snatched hours when I might otherwise have taken the dog onto the beach, I thoroughly enjoyed attempting to provide more objective rigour to my former ramblings and found the overall process of research, writing and appraisal, to be both rewarding and empowering.

I am told that I am quite a driven, obsessive individual, but with the prods, pokes and cajoling of Professor Milling and the endless patience of the technicians in the department, it also only took me fourteen months to submit the final Ebook version: the next problems were to get the Ebook into a format that the University could process and getting the viva organised. Astoundingly, this took a further five months! I submitted the Ebook on a series of memory sticks, together with some explanatory notes about what programmes were necessary to ‘read’ the thesis in that format… this proved especially difficult because not all the examiners owned Macs (the best operating system with which to read Ebooks). I ended-up fielding calls from the university, my supervisors and even one of the external tutors as they tried to work-out how best to read the material. So what was intended as an accessible format, turned out to be difficult to distribute.

I passed the viva, but was required to make major corrections: these I delivered in three weeks, but a further problem ensued because I was forced to represent the corrected thesis in an ordinary Word document alongside the Ebook (but minus the video, audio & interactive elements), so that my amended work could be judged more easily. The doctorate was duly awarded, but although the Ebook resides in the University’s thesis archives, the Ebook itself is not accessible to the public because of concerns over the ownership of the copyright on my various BBC broadcasts, which were accepted as the published part of my thesis. Although I had written the material for broadcast and presented the material for broadcast, the BBC retain copyright on the broadcast programmes themselves – it’s a grey area, but the University were anxious and so have placed an embargo on the availability of the Ebook. (However, if you want me to send you a copy for private use, just let me know!)

The whole process took me twenty months from start to finish, although the thesis is really the culmination of three decades of practice. I am now a Doctor of Philosophy – which fits my performing soubriquet of Uncle rather well, for now I am DrUncle. I am hoping to find a way of continuing my academic research alongside my performance practice by applying for early career research fellowships and the occasional part-time post as a researcher/lecturer. The process was hectic, but rewarding. As much as anything, I learned how academia works – how it has its own language and protocols. I am very proud of my qualification and I am very privileged to have had such a supportive team behind me – both personally and academically. For now, I continue showing my Flea Circus, directing Pantomime and next week I give a talk about Peepshows to Cambridge University… plus ca change!

__________________________

Thanks DrUncle!

Have you taken an unusual route to a PhD or MA? If so, we’d love to hear from you…

Kate Holmes gives the top 5 tips that helped her through her PhD. Her research explores the celebrity of aerial stars of the 1920s and early 1930s using approaches that range from examining spatial performance practices to female physical culture, and draws upon her experience as an amateur aerialist.

Completing a PhD requires focus, concentration and determination especially when life has a habit of getting in the way. If you’re starting a PhD or an MA, this post is most especially for you.

Here are five tips that could make your life a little easier. I am certain future-you will thank present-you for reading this post.

1. Reading Summaries

I owe my supervisor credit for this one: the day before every meeting I’d send a reading summary through to her which formed the basis of our early discussions.

It really is as simple as it sounds: write a summary of everything you read. Note down the core argument and what you agreed or disagreed with. Make clear in your summary what is their thought/argument and what is your response.

Why is this so helpful? Reading is a huge part of research, and I challenge you to remember every argument of everything you read in your first year, three years later.

So, what happens when you need to write or edit your literature review? Well, if you have a reading summary you can use rely on this and be sure you’ve incorporated everything you’ve read. Studies have also shown that reflection increases your engagement with, and recall of, materials.

You may already have heard the tip that you should write every day to increase your productivity. This is because your brain is like a muscle that needs regular exercise. The good news is that this counts towards that everyday writing. It is also a great place to practice because it is pretty low-risk writing as it is for your eyes only!

Sub-tip: Now I’ve finished my PhD I still want to draw from this material on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately, it is locked up in separate word documents but I need this to be accessible and searchable. My current solution is a spreadsheet that includes column’s listing keywords and fields as well as the description. Ctrl F and filters are now my friend.

My new reading summary spreadsheet.

2. Reading Fiction

You are reading so much in the day, how can you possibly think about picking up another book for fun and how can it help? I initially felt this way but felt the urge to read for enjoyment, so I started deliberately picking up the type of fiction that was easy to consume or enjoyably escapist. For me, this was anything from urban fantasy to youth fiction or a good crime thriller. Picking something that didn’t require any kind of pressure to ‘analyse’ was key.

Academic writing is frequently dense and unwieldy. This type of commercial fiction has to engage the reader and take them on a journey or it doesn’t sell. Your examiner, or someone reading an article you write, would enjoy the experience more if your writing mimicked some of the attributes of commercial fiction. One of my examiners remarked on how readable my PhD was and emphasised that this wasn’t always the case when reading PhD theses. Some might argue the popular nature of my topic helped, but I think reading fiction helped me too.

3. Reference Management Software

Reference Management Software

I won’t be the first or the last person to recommend this one. Every time I read something I put it into the reference management software. Every time I referenced an archival source it went in. Although, you’ll notice most software doesn’t do archival sources well. It doesn’t really matter. You can normally fudge it using a generic form.

What you’re doing is giving yourself the ability to create reliable bibliographies at the click of a button. You are saving time and off-loading that particular mental labour. This means that when your thesis is one big document that every reference will be in there. So what if you need to edit some of the formatting? Hurray! You have a comprehensive list to start from.

It is a bit of an old one, but the thesiswhisperer has a great post on reference management software.

4. Invest in a Whiteboard

I love my whiteboard. I’m a planner and it helps me plan. For me, it predominantly helped me with writing and keeping track of big deadlines. (Don’t worry if you’re just starting your PhD, you shouldn’t really be expecting to generate that much writing for a few months.)

The whiteboard helped me see how writing such a big document could be reduced to manageable tasks. I worked out I could write approximately 500 words a day and would plan out when I thought I’d have a written chunk ready for my supervisor. I would always build in contingency (we all have bad days) and days for editing. As things progressed I’d put the chapter plan on the left and include a tally of words. That way it always felt like I was chipping away at the beast. It really helped me keep motivated because 200 words is always 200 words closer to the bottom threshold for a PhD thesis.

Sub-tip: for you, the beauty in a whiteboard might be in brainstorming and visualising difficult concepts. For me, a notebook did this job…

5. Harness the Power of Social Media

I completely understand if you want to keep professional life separate from all the other stuff. But, for me, social media was a way into some great resources.

For one, there are the fantastic blogs from the thesiswhisperer and Pat Thomson. I found these really helpful in picking up writing tips or even ideas that helped with teaching. These people are doing pedagogical research and offer advice on all the aspects of writing a thesis that you are going to encounter.

Social media also helped me establish a network and put me in touch with people before attending conferences. Through Twitter I found out about a new network being set up to bring together people working on circus. My field is pretty disparate, so being part of this network has been a great resource. Through the network I even got the opportunity to interview a circus performer I wouldn’t have encountered any other way.

Sub-tip: most universities offer some kind of online researcher profile that you can keep up-to-date throughout your studies. Having a link on Twitter or in your email signature that describes you and your research helps you make the most of those online connections. (And, if you keep it up to date from the start, it can help you generate an academic CV easily.)

I’m hoping this post might prompt other people to share a few of their tips, as I certainly haven’t done everything right…

NRN friend/ex-Committee member Nora Williams reflects on a year of being an ECR and how to plan for the future. Nora is an independent scholar and theatre-maker currently based in the United States. She is working on her first monograph–Shakespeare, Social Media, and the Archive–and a large-scale practice-as-research project called Measure (Still) for Measure. More information about the latter can be found at http://measurestill.wordpress.com.

Let me start with a story:

A year ago, I was on top of the world. I had just graduated with my PhD, and I had a job offer in hand. Not just any offer: a three-year postdoc in my field with a research allowance. That’s like winning the academic lottery.

But very shortly after I accepted the position, problems began to crop up. I needed approval for a visa in order to take up the post. I know now that I should’ve been a better advocate for myself; at the time, I trusted the university’s HR department to take care of my visa application. They do it all the time, right? But problems began piling up and, four months later, I learned that I didn’t have a job after all.

Since then, I have had six different “day jobs”. But I’ve also finished my book proposal, presented at two conferences, and had an article accepted for publication. My practice-as-research project has taken off and now has interest from some major partners.

Have I been as productive, academically and creatively, as I was during my PhD? Probably not. But given the circumstances, I think I’ve done a pretty good job. So I’m sharing my story not as a pity party, but (hopefully) as an opportunity to help some of my fellow postdocs “on the market” navigate those first months out on your own.

Here are my tips for staying productive and continuing to write when you’re an independent scholar.

1. Be Strategic.

Not all jobs are created equal. If and when you can, think carefully about the kind of work that is going to allow you the time and space to meet your academic goals.

When I started working at a chippy last summer, I was also writing up the corrections on my thesis. The work was physical: I was on my feet, beating batter, slinging chips, and hauling stock up and down a flight of stairs. I was physically exhausted at the end of my shift, but I found writing and research easier than expected. My mind was still sharp, even though my body was tired.

In contrast, when I worked in an admin role this past spring, I found writing so difficult. I was sitting at a computer all day, and even though the job wasn’t intellectually taxing, I just couldn’t convince myself to sit at a computer for several more hours after work. I actually started reading on a low-speed treadmill in the evenings, just to be on my feet a little. It wasn’t a sustainable situation for me.

Everyone’s needs are different. Sometimes, you just need to take the first job that comes along. If that means taking a writing break, too, there’s absolutely no shame in that. But if you want to keep researching and writing alongside your “day job”, then think strategically about what kinds of jobs are going to make that possible for you and target them.

2. Make a plan; change the plan.

Both parts of this tip are equally important.

You’ve got to make a plan. Even if you’re not a planner. Even if you’re not really sure what your job / home / goals will be in six months. Even if you think you don’t need one. Make a plan and write it down.

If you’re applying for postdocs and grants, they’ll want a written plan of action detailing what you’ll be doing during each of the months in which you want their money. Trust me when I say that this is a lot easier to do if you’ve thought about it before you sit down to write the application.

But more importantly, a plan helps to give you a sense that you’re heading towards something, which is absolutely crucial in the first year after you’ve worn your floppy hat and insisted that everyone call you “Doctor”. You had one major goal for a long time, and no doubt you worked doggedly to achieve it. Give yourself some new goals, or you’ll want to tear your hair out.

This brings us to the second part of this tip: change the plan.

Your first plan will most likely be a pie-in-the-sky, everything-goes-right kind of plan. That’s okay—you need those, too. But every time you change the plan, you’ll make it more achievable.

Do not marry yourself to the idea that you’ll get your second article published and your book proposal finished and your giant grant application done within three months of graduation while also working another job. It’s great to be ambitious, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t complete everything at the speed you’d hoped.

Make a plan, then make another one, and another one. Never be without a plan, but always be ready for the plan to change.

3. Find your people and be nice to them.

You’ve seen how brutal the market is: you are almost certainly not the only one in this position, making these choices, or climbing these hurdles. Find the others, and embrace them.

Read their stuff and give them good feedback. Not “good” as in uncritically positive; “good” as in thoughtful, generous, and genuine (see this previous NRN Blog post for some advice on that front). Ask for their feedback on your stuff, too. Receive their critiques generously. Build a cohort of people who rely on each other for quality peer reviewing. Create lovely intellectual communities together. You’re going to need each other for the road ahead.

To put it bluntly: there’s no point in being nasty and competitive with your peers. It doesn’t help anyone, and it will make you miserable. Be kind and cultivate great relationships with them instead.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

This is a tip that I’m still working on myself.

I am very lucky in that I have good friends who were willing to help out in those four months of precarity between graduation and visa decision, and in the six months since. I also lived with my parents for a while, and I’m lucky that I have parents who are financially able to help in that way.

If I’m honest, I sort of resent that I needed that much help.

But I also recognise that asking for help when you need it is really important. This applies across the board: financial help, emotional support, a place to crash while you figure things out, or even just a PDF link to that article you’ve been wanting to read. Everyone needs help sometimes, even the most fiercely independent among us. There’s no shame in leaning on the people who genuinely offer assistance. Besides, the world turns ’round: you may have an opportunity to help them, someday, too.

While we’re here, there’s no shame in reaching out for professional help, either. We know that the rates of mental illness among academics are scarily high, and being in a precarious job situation certainly doesn’t help if you’re prone to depression or anxiety. Needing help is not the same as failing.

5. Investigate your local resources.

I recently checked out a book of Walter Benjamin’s essays from my local public library. A quick Google search hooked me up with the alumni library access programme at my former institution. On Twitter, #icanhazpdf can work wonders if you’re struggling to get your hands on an academic publication. Most academic libraries have some kind of access scheme for “the public” and/or their alumni available. There are resources out there to help independent scholars if you go looking for them.

Losing library access is the worst, but it isn’t a death sentence for your research. You’ll just have to hunt a little harder. Investigate what’s available locally, take advantage of your networks, and keep trucking.

Finally…

… remember that choosing a different career isn’t a failure, either. If there’s something else you want to try, and you’re just plain sick of the academic market, go for it! You can always come back, and no one decent will think any less of you for it.

We are so excited to share the provisional schedule for #NRNMarkingTime! Please note that this may be subject to change. In any case, we cannot wait to see you all on 21 June! Don’t forget that you can still register here.